


Sleepless Nights

by Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron



Series: Mishaps and Tantrums [2]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron/pseuds/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron
Summary: 3 nights where Magnus got the best sleep of his life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> More fluff because I need the practice.

He was sure hell was preferable to this.

Things had been difficult for a while now, ever since they had adopted Rafael.

The poor boy had a rough adjustment period. His English was sporadic at best, making what little confidence he still had evaporate every time it took him more than one try to get his point across. If that wasn't bad enough, the only one in his new family he could freely talk to was Magnus. The warlock. The thing that was part of a world that had spent the better half of who knew how long terrorizing the life out of Rafael. Magnus actually despaired every time Rafael turned to him. It was never because he wanted to, more like important necessity if he needed Alec to know something fast- like Max trying to dye Chairman Meow blue again.

Beyond the language problems were the sleepless nights. Rafael wasn't used to the softness of a bed, having been on the streets for a while. Magnus remembered well how hard it was to move from floor to bed so quickly. He yearned to help. But he would only do more bad than good. So he contented himself with helping out in other ways. Snapping a new sheet and leaving spare pyjamas lying around in case of an accident. Leaving Rafael's door open when Max threw a tantrum, knowing the boy was awake too, and hoping the lullaby Alec would gladly sing if Rafael just asked, drift into his room.

Most importantly of all, Magnus kept his distance and started doting even more time on his neglected blueberry. He hoped if he distracted Max enough the boy would give enough space for Alec to see to their other child.

Which brought Alec to the most difficult Rafael was having a bad adjustment period. Max. His little demon was a terror on the best of days. Hogging Alec's attention, throwing tantrums and generally acting like any two year old.

He woke the loft more times than anything, screeching into the night after three failed attempts to sleep in their bed. Alec had stopped allowing Magnus to take care of late night Max. Apparently he wasn't mature enough to handle him, which, in this case, he had to agree. Magnus only had two settings when dealing with late night Max. At this time of night any energy he had was long exhausted, his reserves ran dry and patience gone. When Max inevitably threw a fit Magnus either tried to out drama him, the two of them crying and slamming doors into the night. Or, he caved and put up with Max kicking him subtly further and further out of his own bed. Both situations less than ideal according to Alec, despite the fact he caved more times to Max than anything.

That was usual Max. However lately Max had went from regular to extreme. Magnus didn't know what was wrong with him. No longer did they have gaps in between the tantrums to get some rest. Instead, Max screamed all day, all night, with no rest.

When this happened for more than two days Magnus was starting to grow worried. He had checked Max's temperature, even took him to Catarina who had given him the all clear. He fed him his favourite foods, made sure only Alec handled him, and always had his blue cat on hand. He didn't know what else to do.

They tried to keep him up all day, hoping that exhausting him would have him sleeping for more than a few hours at a time. They set him down in high hopes, his little screams quieting to whimpers as Alec tucked him in.

The two of them were on edge as Max closed his eyes, just waiting for him to start up again like he had for most of his little life. Yet the eyes remained closed, and no sound was made as they shut his door and retreated back into the living room.

'Maybe he was just tired,' Alec said. 'I mean, he usually sleeps with us. This whole new independent sleeping probably messed with his schedule.'

'Maybe.' Magnus didn't believe him, if it were that simple Max would have calmed down weeks ago.

They moved on to Rafael, Alec helping him with his pyjama buttons. Magnus magicked up another pair, hiding them in their usual place and swapping out the old ones there. He sighed, the dampness still there, and wished he could talk to Rafael about it. But their system seemed to be working, and since Rafael still hadn't told Alec why he had new sheets on most mornings he didn't bring it up. It was Rafael's right after all.

He retreated to the living room again when Alec started in on a story, Rafael barely fell asleep with Magnus still in the room. Instead, he changed and dove straight in to bed. A blinking 20:00 mocked him as his eyes fell traitorously shut. If someone had told him a few years ago he would be willingly falling asleep at eight o clock he would have laughed. Now, he didn't have the energy, and would gladly go back to old him and thrust Max on him. See how he dealt with a fussy two year old. He bet Magnus back then would be even more exhausted than he was now.

He dragged himself back into consciousness. Alec was wrapped around him, the two of them warm in their cocoon. For a brief moment he wondered if he had slept through the night, for the first time, in two years. But no. The room was still dark, the curtains parting to let in a strip of silver meaning it wasn't morning. Had he woken on his own? Why would his body be so cruel? He could still feel the exhaustion weighing him down, something telling him that this jolt to awareness wasn't voluntarily.

He listened, thinking Max might have started his nightly screaming. But Alec would have been up and seeing to Max instead of lying in bed next to him. He shuffled, cuddling further into the Max free space under Alec's chin, listening to the soothing rhythm of his breathing. He started when he realised Alec wasn't breathing in sync with what he was hearing.

Standing at the side of their bed was Rafael, almost blending in with the shadows. He was on Magnus' side, the reason why he had missed him on his customary sweep of the room. His big brown eyes were teary and breath stuttering as he held back his sobs.

His Spanish was second nature, asking Rafael if everything was alright. He knew it wasn't, but Rafael was a sweet kid. He rarely wanted to put them out, most likely thinking they would throw him out if he caused an inconvenience. Magnus wanted to point out that if any of their children were an inconvenience and had a right to be chucked out it was Max. But now wasn't the time, just like the last four times weren't the time either.

Rafael didn't answer Magnus, not right away. He shuffled, biting his lip, and something about the way he was moving told Magnus everything. It was one of those nights.

Usually when Rafael ruined his sheets Magnus was already awake, comforting himself with a glass of milk in the kitchen and trying to drown out Max's little tantrums. He supposed tonight was a change in schedule in more than one way. Raf couldn't just pop his head out and know Magnus had changed his sheets when he turned back.

He changed them now, sparing Raf a smile as he asked whether he wanted Alec to tuck him back in. The boy shook his head, still lingering in the shadows.

Sparing one last look at his cocoon he led the boy back out, detouring to the kitchen to fish out a cookie. He'd made them for Rafael, feeling bad when he looked more tired than Magnus. He'd also made them in the hope that baking would calm Max down like it usually did. He was proven wrong when the little demon spent the afternoon crying on Alec's lap, not even eating when a cookie was put before his nose.

Rafael, thankfully, ate the cookie without complaint, something the rest of his kind could learn to do. The two of them practically tip toed back to Rafael's room, Magnus showing him that the sheets were dry.

'Want me to magic you more pj's?' It wasn't unheard of for it to happen more than once.

Rafael shook his head, quietly saying his thanks as he crawled back in to bed. Magnus waited outside, keeping the door open until he was sure Rafael was asleep.

Magnus cursed his very existence when the door to his and Alec's room slammed shut louder than he intended. The snick echoed around the loft, Alec himself bolting up, proving he wasn't as asleep as Magnus thought he was.

They both held their breath, the world still as the seconds after Magnus' mistake went by. Magnus sighed in relief as the quiet held, grinning triumphantly over at Alec. They could have one night. Rafael was back in bed, it was still early enough for him to get a good six hours of sleep and-

Max started crying. They didn't need a baby monitor to hear him through the walls. Twin groans sounded, Alec ordering Magnus back to bed as he went to soothe their little demon.

When Alec came back in their room, Max in tow, Magnus didn't have the strength to argue. He was tired, he didn't care if Max slept with them until he was fifteen at this rate, he just wanted to sleep.

'Maxi what's wrong?' He heard Alec more whine than ask. Their little blueberry was set down in his usual space between them, his little limbs flailing as he screamed himself hoarse. 'Are you hungry? Thirsty? You want a cookie Max?'

Their little demon didn't answer, working himself up more and more as his demands weren't met. Alec went out anyway, learning from experience that when he was in doubt it helped to try things anyway.

Alone, Magnus tried to suss out what was wrong. He sat his demon up, Max sniffing at him, and made sure they were looking each other in the eye. 'Alright Max, warlock to warlock, what's wrong? You're not usually this fussy, and you can speak big boy words now. So, tell us what's wrong.'

'I don't know,' Max garbled, repeating it again and again.

Magnus sighed, glad at least that they were making some progress. 'Are you hurting Maxi? Tummy rumbling?'

Max shook his head, but he did latch on to one thing Magnus said.

'Hurts,' he said.

That got Magnus' attention. 'Where?'

He'd made sure, he'd taken him to Catarina. Still, there was always the opportunity she had missed something. Maybe a cut or bump they had overlooked. Max was a drama queen after all. He'd milked Magnus accidentally knocking him for days.

'Hurts,' Max repeated again and again, his little hands reaching up to rub his head.

'Alec!' He took Max's hands away, pushing his hair back to get a good look.

Alec ran in, three cookies hanging from his fingers and took over before Magnus even started explaining. The both of them checked Max three times over, neither of them could find anything wrong. Max was insistent however that something hurt. His head hurt.

Magnus didn't know what to do. He couldn't drug the kid without knowing what was going on. Catarina wasn't returning his calls, and any magic he could perform probably wouldn't work. There didn't seem to be anything wrong.

Eventually they just fed Max all three cookies and let him sleep in their bed. The next night they didn't even bother putting Max in his own bed. The only way they were getting any sleep was to give in until they found a permanent solution to Max's 'hurts'.

It was on the third day, Magnus falling asleep in his pancakes, when they finally got to the bottom of Max's little tantrums. They were planning to spend the day on the couch, hoping the television would distract both kids from their troubles for a while.

Alec was trying to feed Max his breakfast, cutting up his pancakes into bites small enough to be chewed through the crying. Magnus was considering trying to help him, but last time he had done so Max had bit him. Alec shook his head over at him now, as if hearing his thoughts and warning him to stay away. So Magnus went back to his breakfast, trying not to fall asleep.

Still, as tired as he was, Magnus was proud of at least one of his children that morning. Rafael was sitting at the counter in the same pj's he had went to sleep in. He sneaked another pancake over to the boy in congratulations.

Raf barely noticed, squinting over at Max. Magnus thought he was cringing at the noise, too much of Max's high pitched voice had Magnus cringing too. But Rafael was focusing on something else instead. 'Alec, what's-' He pointed to Max, struggling with the rest of his English. 'Max,' he eventually said, pointing to his own forehead.

Alec discarded the pancakes, pushing Max's hair back like he had the other night. Magnus saw what Rafael was pointing at. There, on Max's forehead were two dark circles. They were small, growing darker as it got to the middle.

Alec was panicked, ordering Magnus to call Catarina again. He was already dialling her.

When he made it through three holds and Cat asking if he was serious his friend portalled in. Max was examined again, Cat actually looking sheepish as she diagnosed what they had all missed. Max was growing horns, already they were breaching his skin, something that was probably painful for the boy.

When Cat went he could tell Alec felt as terrible as he did. They had noticed Max rubbing his head. He'd done so a lot in the past couple of days, even with his first examination with Cat.

Needless to say they spoiled Max after that. Magnus rubbed cream after cream on his growing horns until he found one that soothed the breaking skin. Max wasn't made to sleep in his own bed for a few days, Alec cuddling him in close and rubbing his head to try and make him drift off faster.

Between all that Magnus noticed more and more days where Rafael would turn up to breakfast in dry pyjama's. He thought that the boy was just putting on a brave face and sleeping in damp pj's. He wouldn't put it past Raf to do that instead of waking Magnus up again. But when he checked the sheets, and even sneaked in to Rafael's room some nights, the sheets were dry.

That wasn't to say he still didn't have nightmares, but nights were easier and, when Max's horns finally settled on to his little head, the most wonderful thing happened. One night, a night like any other night, Alec and Magnus put the boys to bed. They made sure Max knew he was to stay here tonight, and checked the closet and under the bed to prove that there were no monsters waiting to eat Rafael. They tucked the boys up to their chins, stories read and teeth brushed, and closed their doors revelling in the silence of an easy bedtime.

They tip toed, stripping off and burrowing under their covers. Magnus looped his arms around Alec's middle, the two of them giving in to their exhausted bodies and slept.

All night.

Without one interruption.

He couldn't remember when he had slept better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry if it's bad grammer/ spelling. I'm planning on looking over it again. Never write when you're sick guys.

It was the most wonderful time of the year. According to the TV anyway. In Magnus' loft he was actually wishing it was the middle of July. It wasn't that he hated Christmas. Over the years he had grown a certain fondness for the holiday. It was an excuse to decorate his loft with obscene amounts of glitter, and hang ordinary things usually frowned on everywhere in the name of the holiday. It was an excuse for his greedy side to come out and demand this or that which he couldn't be bothered to steal from his friends. It was also the one holiday where his friends would tolerate him for longer than a few hours. All in the name of Christmas.

Of course, that had all changed now. Ragnor was gone now, the first Christmas without him more sombre than it had been for a while. Then Raphael joined him. He had never had what would be constituted a big friend group. Sure, he had lovers and people who hung off him at the club, but in reality the people who he considered friends were few and far between. With that number now down to Catarina and himself he had been looking forward to a rather small Christmas.

At least, he had been before Alec declared his undying love and they spawned off two lovely little angels.

Cat had came by earlier in the week, dropping off his present and staying for an actual drink before leaving for her job again. She also dropped off some things for the boys, something which had Max in a constant state of excitement. Hence Magnus' despair.

Last year, Max had been too young to really know what Christmas was. His little blue blob had been sitting giggling on their knees for most of the day, napping in between the excitement. Now, in a mere twelve months, he had learnt more words and managed to advance from crawling to toddling. He was more aware, and had connected the dots that where there was bright wrapping paper there were new things for him to play with.

As soon as Cat had slipped Magnus those bright square boxes Max had been hanging off Magnus' arms like a Koala. Quite frankly it was the most attention he had ever received from Max, usually he was too busy pining after Alec to notice he had another dad. Now, he was following Magnus' every move, asking after his present. They baked cookies in the shape of reindeers, Max asked after his present. Magnus put a Christmas movie on, Max cuddled up to him halfway through asking after his present. Before he went to bed, in the bath, when he sneaked into their bed after a failed attempt to get him to stay in his own bed, he asked after his present.

Alec was no help. His family was around constantly because of the holidays, putting him in an almost euphoric state of happiness. Isabelle called around every morning, sneaking cookies from their kitchen before taking Alec over to the Institute to see the rest of his family. Jace was around on Tuesday with her, the two of them bringing more shiny packages and unsubtle winks that sent Max on more of a whinge.

Christmas Eve came with Magnus almost at his wits end. He was actually looking forward to the morning so he could put Max out of his misery.

He had Raf and Max ready for bed by six, knowing it would take at least three hours to get them to calm down and asleep. Max was looking adorable in his little elf pyjama's, running around the couch in circles for some unknown reason. His other little angel was pouting next to Alec. He knew he wasn't very happy with him.

Over the past couple of months he had found a little courage. He warmed up to Magnus, finally realizing that he wasn't lying in wait to hurt him. As a result, his English was much better, Magnus giving him little lessons and translating when he still had trouble. Sometimes they even had secret conversations in Spanish, the two of them complaining about the Institute or plotting a coup at the next family movie night. They also ended up bonding over clothes. Raf was too young to really understand co-ordination. More often than not he liked when things looked bright and fun, leaving the hard work to Magnus. He was basically Magnus' mini me, and he loved the attention that entailed.

He may have indulged Raf a bit too much. Usually the two of them matched all day everyday, even in their pj's. But Magnus had spotted an adorable little reindeer pair that he knew Raf would pull off and he would just look stupid in. Raf had complained for a while, insisting he should be wearing the red and white silk ones like Magnus before huffing and going to seek support from his other dad.

Their nightly ritual was useless tonight. Max was a bundle of energy, running and stumbling long after when he usually gave up and moved on to something else.

'Stop it,' Alec warned, as Magnus bit back a chuckle.

Max had just stumbled again, falling flat on his face before picking himself back up and going back to running.

It was a side affect of his horns they had found out. As soon as the two little points had breached and settled on Max's head they had encountered another problem. Max wasn't used to the weight. At first he didn't walk, complaining they were too heavy to walk around with. Even when he was sitting however, he usually ended up flat on his back.

When he did finally start walking again, Magnus wasn't prepared for the sight of it. Max's sense of direction was off, he walked into walls, and more often than not fell down. After a few falls Max got used to the fact he was going to be doing it for a while yet. He also knew that Magnus would always catch him when he fell, cushioning the floor so it didn't hurt him. It was because of that fact that he thought he was justified enough to laugh at Max falling every now and then. Alec was of another opinion, his baby was getting hurt after all, and more often than not told Magnus to leave the room when his sniggers got too much to handle.

It was hard to do so now, Max falling almost every other step, toppling forwards backwards and any other direction he wasn't meant to. He fought off the chuckles, if only so he could sleep in his own bed tonight, if he continued down this road Alec's eyes were promising the couch. So he choked on his humour one more time and grabbed Max before he could fall again.

He set the little blueberry on his knee, smiling complacently over at Alec, showing he could be adult about this. His darling just turned back to the TV, _A Christmas Carol_ thundering through their loft.

He got bored of the movie around the time the ghost of Christmas present turned up. Unfortunately for him Alec had never seen this movie, the downfall of being a Shadowhunter, so it wasn't like he could just change the channel.

He looked to other means of occupying himself. Namely poking Max's little horns. He couldn't get over how cute they were, or how sharp. They had to cotton wool them up when he ended up almost puncturing Magnus' thigh the last time he ran over to greet him.

He changed them blue, the same shade as the rest of Max. Pink, yellow, stripy, and every colour he could think of until Max was giggling in his lap, trying to catch the sparks Magnus' fingers were giving off.

'Change them green,' Raf laughed, climbing over Alec to join in the fun. He complied, until he had the whole family picking colours to change Max's horns.

They were all deciding between polka dots or stars when Alec's phone buzzed on the table.

'Ignore it,' Magnus pleaded, knowing there was nothing good on the other end. There barely ever was.

Alec looked like he would actually ignore it too, until it buzzed again, and again, and again. Until he had no choice but to answer. Magnus understood, he knew how bad Alec would take it if someone ended up hurt because he was too selfish to pick up the phone.

It wasn't good. Within a few minutes Alec was hanging up and getting his gear together. 'There's a demon loose down eighth. Izzy and Jace said they could handle it, but Clary turned up at the last minute and now they're trying to clean up four Oni demons.' He kissed the boys goodbye, Max doing the smart thing and trying to cling on to Alec.

'When will you be back?' If he was coming back. He still didn't trust biscuit to keep his Alec safe. She was more trouble than she was worth some days.

'Tonight, hopefully.'

He didn't miss that hopefully, and followed Alec to the door, trying to keep Alec for as long as possible. He wished he could go with him like he used to. The two of them battling demons side by side like they had been born to do so. But they had their little angels now, which meant one of them always had to stay behind. Magnus really hated when that someone was him. Alec was the better one with the kids, he was the one who held this makeshift family together. If he left, Magnus didn't know what he would do.

Alec pecked him again, and again, before finally extracting himself and grabbing his bow. 'I'll be back.'

He wasn't in such a Christmas-y mood after that. The movie was still on, but none of them were paying any attention. He tried keeping their spirits up, the boys shouldn't be miserable after all. So he took them into the kitchen to fetch Santa's milk and cookies.

He didn't bother putting the boys in their own bed. Alec said tonight, but it was doubtful he would get there before morning, and Magnus didn't want to sleep alone. So he put the boys on his bed, fished out Chairman from his little hiding spot on top of Max's dresser, and settled in for a hard night.

The boys could read the tension Magnus was leaking out, refusing to go to sleep after one story. Two and Max needed the toilet. Three, and Raf threw another fit about his pj's. Four, Chairman decided he didn't want to sleep with his family on Christmas which prompted a family wide pout. Five, and Magnus had given up trying to get the boys to sleep. Instead they went to his closet and played supermodels.

He guessed they must have all fell asleep sometime, when he couldn't specify. All he knew was that he woke in a pile of Alec's jumpers with Rafael curled on one side and Max half lying on his head.

He was disgruntled to find Alec wasn't back when he sneaked out to make breakfast. Worried when the boys finally woke up and Alec still wasn't there. He said it was just clean up, surely it couldn't have taken this long.

He wanted to wait for Alec to get back before opening presents. It was Rafael's first Christmas with them after all, he wanted to make it special. But the longer the day went on and Alec didn't show up, the harder it was to not give them at least one little present to make them smile.

It was noon when he finally gave in and called the Institute. Robert picked up, cooing almost immediately for his grandsons who were within hearing range. When he finally staved the man off his children, Magnus learned that Robert didn't know where Alec was. Apparently the four Shadowhunters were still missing, something that was more than worrying.

At three he finally had enough and wrestled the boys into their coats. He made sure Max's horns were fully covered by Rafael's passed on pj top's hood before taking the both of them the long way to the Institute. He half hoped on the way there they would bump into Alec. Maybe he would be getting off the subway, walking up the street to the loft or even just exiting the Institute. But there was no sign of Alec.

He passed the kids on to their grandparents, Robert and Maryse more than happy to kidnap and smother Rafael and Max for the rest of the day. With both of them well looked after Magnus portalled straight to eighth, and the abandoned building Alec thought Magnus hadn't heard about over the phone.

He expected blood, bodies and something world ending. He expected Alec to be half dead, hoped he would be otherwise his darling was in for the argument of a lifetime.

Instead, he walked in to what had to be described as some kind of Christmas wonderland. There was white everywhere, fake snow layered over and over again until it was a soft crunch under his feet. Streamers and baubles were hung everywhere, a large tree taking centre stage in the room. It was decorated beautifully, red and gold towering up to a perfect angel watching over him. He felt rather guilty in its presence, but cast those feelings aside when he caught sight of the thing behind the tree. It was a worn, very familiar looking chair. Wing backed and a deep red he remembered used to live in Alec's room. How did Magnus know? There were quite a few stains on there he had 'failed' to magic out the times he had coerced Alec into it.

Seated on it was also a familiar person. His blonde hair was hidden by a white wig, complete with beard. A big red hat was on his head, and a coat giving him a rather large look. Much different to how he usually looked, and Magnus had to take a moment to stifle the laughs as he looked his fill.

Izzy and Clary were behind Jace, both of them dressed like green elves and hanging more streamers. So this is what Alec had been up to. Magnus didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed he had left him out of his plans. Maybe if he had known, he wouldn't have spent the whole of Christmas Eve worried sick.

As if thinking about Alec, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle, a dark head of hair leaning on his shoulder.

'I am so sorry. Jace promised he would have it finished yesterday, and I honestly thought I would be back last night. I didn't know there was so much to do. Forgive me?'

He felt boneless, leaning into that dark head. He had thought something bad had happened to Alec, thought him dead almost. He should be shouting, telling Alec the hell he had been through, the hell the boys were still going through. Instead, he said, 'How on earth did you convince Jace to play Santa?'

Alec's hazel eyes lifted to his, wary as if expecting a reprimand, which was probably going to happen at boxing day. When one didn't come he pecked Magnus' cheek and grinned like a schoolboy. 'I didn't. He said he hadn't had a proper Christmas, and was actually the one to suggest playing Santa. Apparently it's a lifelong dream of his.'

They laughed, Magnus asking if he was allowed to fill the boys in. Alec asked for another ten minutes, telling him to go back to the loft and get the boy's presents if he really wanted to help things along.

Alec had a lot of trust in him, Magnus realized as he piled the boy's presents into the given sack. Any other person would probably have expected Magnus to let Max and Rafael to open their presents as soon as they woke up. Even Magnus had contemplated that option. But Alec didn't even ask him if they were still intact, merely told him to fetch them before the boys.

Rafael ran over to him when he got back to the Institute. Apparently there was only so much he could take of his grandparents before he wanted to make a retreat. Magnus knew the feeling, feigning politeness as he greeted them.

Max was reluctant to go, ever the terror, and it took the prospect of opening presents for him to finally let his grandmother go and portal through with Magnus.

Their reactions to the Winter Wonderland was better than Magnus'. Max took one look at the fake snow and started screaming, running around like a mad man as he processed it. Raf was more subdued in his wonderment, his head swivelling every direction as he still clung on to Magnus' hand.

'What's going on?' Raf asked.

Alec peered around the tree, effectively cutting off anymore questions as the boys ran over for their hello hug.

'I have a surprise for you,' Alec built up, keeping the boys from looking over at Jace too soon. 'A very special man decided to give your presents in person. So have you been good?'

Max nodded immediately, breaking away from Alec to see what his surprise was. If the shout of 'Santa!' was anything to go by, he knew Max would remember Christmas next year, probably demanding Santa show up in person again.

Magnus joined Alec when Raf didn't join Max right away. 'You not been good Raf?'

Raf was frowning, watching Max over Alec's head as he ripped the present out of Jace's hands.

'Raf?' Alec asked. 'What's wrong?'

'I get a present?'

He sounded genuinely confused as well, which was when it dawned on Magnus that Rafael probably thought they would leave him. He was still at that phase where he thought he was dispensable, that Magnus and Alec would get rid of him soon. He probably thought this was a one time thing, which made an even more depressing thought occur to him. Raf was five, the only memories he had were of horror and blood. He had probably never had a Christmas before, or if he did have one, he had probably forgotten it.

He pulled the kid into a hug, not being able to help himself. He remembered how hard it was adjusting to new things, he still was having been born four hundred years ago. He let Raf go when he complained about his make-up.

'I want you to listen Raf, okay? From now, until you're old and grey, you're going to get a present every year from me. It's Christmas, and you're my adorable little angel, so don't ever think Santa's going to forget you again.'

A shy smile overcame Raf, Alec taking over and moving their little party over to Jace.

It took a momentous effort not to out Jace, the whole image of him as Santa was too laughable not to ignore. Thankfully, Alec was able to distract him with presents. They watched Max play with his new toy sword, declaring then and there he was going to be a pirate. Magnus promised to tell him, when he was slightly older, about his own adventures in that profession, knowing that would be one way to sway Max in his favour. They watched as Rafael got a new dress up costume, Magnus helping him transform into princess Jasmine and taking them on a magic carpet ride for a while.

He was grinning like a madman when Alec cornered him later, handing him a small neatly wrapped box. An obscene slip of clothing was inside, looking like it would fit Magnus before Alec promised to show it to him on later. He also got a shiny ear cuff from his darling in the shape of an arrow, something he could wear later while Alec was posing for him.

'I'm going to be mad at you,' Magnus warned as he swapped out his ear cuff for his new one. 'Not right now, but it's coming.'

'Fair enough,' Alec agreed, enjoying the new arrows Magnus had special made for him. They were coloured to the exact shade to his eyes, the hazel a beautiful blur as they fired again and again into the target he magicked up.

When Jace eventually fell asleep in his chair, Alec near following him after being up all night, Magnus portalled all of them back to their respective homes.

'We should go to Agrabah,' Raf announced, going off to collect Chairman.

'Is that even a real place?' Alec asked, hoisting Max up higher as he threatened to slip out of his arms.

'I don't think it matters,' Magnus said, helping Alec set Max to bed. Raf would be up for another hour, but their little blueberry was tuckered out and ready for bed.

When they eventually got Raf asleep, and Magnus finished enjoying his present, he spread his limbs out, thinking back on last year. Max with his little chubby fists wondering what all this brightness was. This year definitely topped it.

'We're going to have to go big next year.'

'Definitely,' Alec agreed, kissing his neck. 'That is, if you're not still mad at me. I know last night wasn't exactly fair on you.'

Magnus hummed, wrapping Alec's arms around him. 'Go to sleep. Hopefully I'll get all my anger out as soon as we wake up. You don't know this because you left me alone with our children, but your parents invited us around for boxing day. Something I had to agree to because I hadn't any idea where their son was, and they know I can't decline them without you there.'

He felt Alec stiffen behind him, a muttered sorry vibrating into his neck.

He knew Alec was sorry. Had already forgiven him actually, but he still wanted to yell at him. It was probably that, along with the exhaustion of Christmas in general that had him sleeping so peacefully that night. Or it was probably the fact that he finally had a full house for Christmas. Finally had a family he could call his own.


End file.
